posted at 4:01 pm on September 25, 2013 by Allahpundit

Why they decided to put this out, I don’t know. I suppose they decided that the public has a right to know, although nothing much happens in the video; the right to know naturally doesn’t extend to the mayhem itself, just the prelude. But the impending doom that remains will make your blood run cold regardless. It’s one thing to know that it was an ambush from reading about it in the newspaper, it’s another thing to watch this lunatic creep towards unsuspecting people milling about in the hall, shotgun in hand. Dreadful, in every sense.

Incidentally, the feds think they’ve figured out why Alexis’s arrest record didn’t set off enough alarms to have his security clearance revoked. He apparently lied about his past, and when the background checkers inquired with local police for details, they were … refused.

A central focus of the review is a 2007 background check of Mr. Alexis conducted by US Investigations Services LLC, a Falls Church, Va., company facing a criminal investigation over allegations that it rushed cases through the clearance process without proper review.

Last week, the Office of Personnel Management, the agency in charge of overseeing most federal background security checks, said USIS had conducted a complete investigation of Mr. Alexis, including information on the 2004 arrest.

On Monday, the agency said Mr. Alexis had turned in an incomplete security background form in 2007 that omitted information about the arrest as well as financial problems in his past. After uncovering the problems in the normal course of the examination, investigators asked the Seattle Police Department for information on Mr. Alexis. But the department refused, according to the OPM…

“Had the Seattle Police Department permitted OPM to obtain the law-enforcement records, it is possible that additional information may have been obtained,” according to an agency official. “However, OPM cannot compel police departments to cooperate.”

The feds have a bunch of his thumb drives and computers and, while they’re not revealing the contents, they say they now have reason to believe that Alexis thought his mind was being controlled by extremely low frequency electromagnetic waves. That presumably explains the cryptic “my ELF weapon” inscription on his shotgun. (There were other inscriptions too, including “End to the torment!” You can see photos on the FBI’s website.) As for the mysterious stand-down order given to the Capitol Police SWAT team, they were still waiting for an explanation from their superiors at last check. Here’s one possibility that occurred to me after last week’s post, though: What if their supervisors feared the Navy Yard shooting was a diversionary tactic? Terrorists have pulled that before, hitting a soft target somewhere to draw away police to the scene and then launching a more fearsome attack on a more valuable target nearby. Could be Capitol PD thought the chaos at the Navy Yard was designed to get SWAT to commit there, with something even more sinister planned for the Capitol itself.

Incidentally, the feds think they’ve figured out why Alexis’s arrest record didn’t set off enough alarms to have his security clearance revoked. He apparently lied about his past, and when the background checkers inquired with local police for details, they were … refused.

On Monday, the agency said Mr. Alexis had turned in an incomplete security background form in 2007 that omitted information about the arrest as well as financial problems in his past. After uncovering the problems in the normal course of the examination, investigators asked the Seattle Police Department for information on Mr. Alexis. But the department refused, according to the OPM…

So, they knew about an earlier arrest and they knew that he had already lied about it. What else did they need to reject this douchebag? I don’t care if the Seattle police said that he was the greatest guy in the world … the guy had already lied about an arrest. End of story on getting a security clearance of any sort.

WTFFF?

I guess Alexis released a jpeg of his clean record to them … an obvious forgery, but that’s cool in Washington, these days.

Has anyone else been wondering, why on a Naval base, there are no armed Marines there? The Navy Yard is down the street from the Marine Corps(pronounced,core, for our CINC)Headquarters at 8th and “I”, where plenty of troops could have responded quickly to this assault. There is something terribly wrong inside DOD!

What if their supervisors feared the Navy Yard shooting was a diversionary tactic? Terrorists have pulled that before, hitting a soft target somewhere to draw away police to the scene and then launching a more fearsome attack on a more valuable target nearby.

They haven’t done that, here, and if this SWAT team had stayed at the scene and taken Alexis down (or gave him some pause, at least) then other SWATtish teams around DC would be gearing up to protect any other place … though there really isn’t anything all that valuable or important in that fetid swampland, anyway.

No … there’s absolutely no excuse for those stand-down orders. None, whatsoever.

Has anyone else been wondering, why on a Naval base, there are no armed Marines there? The Navy Yard is down the street from the Marine Corps(pronounced,core, for our CINC)Headquarters at 8th and “I”, where plenty of troops could have responded quickly to this assault. There is something terribly wrong inside DOD!

I hate it when people that know nothing about firearms shoot their mouths off. The fire arm in question is an AR-15 semi-automatic, single shot revolver with a 23 round clip and high capacity bullets. I can’t quite see but, it may have the optional integrated barrel shroud and choke with the IR laser sight.

When will we see the same kind of footage of the shooter walking into Sandy Hook Elementary School?

Akzed on September 25, 2013 at 4:10 PM

Or how about ANY information about the deaths of Christopher Stevens and the others. We know they are dead. We know the administration lied its ass off about being the result of spontaneous protests. But….. we don’t have the most basic of facts like the cause of death, why the CIA was massed in Benghazi (though we can guess), or why the giant cover-up.

As for the mysterious stand-down order given to the Capitol Police SWAT team, they were still waiting for an explanation from their superiors at last check.

The Capitol Hill SWAT team was being assigned R2P duties supporting Al Quaeda in Syria. They had to get them to the airport.

It’s amazing that none of the douchebags who issued or knew about that order have any conscience, at all. I would have expected a half-decent person to have blabbed something by now or just committed sepuku. But noooo. The lowlifes are worried about their jobs and couldn’t care less about the people who died, likely due that insane order. Psychopaths.

Why they decided to put this out, I don’t know. I suppose they decided that the public has a right to know, although nothing much happens in the video

IMO, it is supposed to exonerate Navy Yard security. They show the shooter coming into the garage in his environmentally friendly vehicle. They show his entry into the building like any other worker. Then they show him lurking in less traveled areas with the one-of-a-kind AR-15 assault shotgun. All designed to say that the fault lies with the mental health system, USIS, or something other than security.

And I think that it was also released to allay fears of Navy Yard workers about the safety of their workplace. In other words, whatever caused the massacre, security did all that it could under the circumstances.

There are bodies not yet in the ground, people who are still being treated for physical or mental injuries, people working hard to support the Navy despite what they experienced last week and the FBi decides giving this porn to the media is a good idea?

What if their supervisors feared the Navy Yard shooting was a diversionary tactic? Terrorists have pulled that before, hitting a soft target somewhere to draw away police to the scene and then launching a more fearsome attack on a more valuable target nearby. Could be Capitol PD thought the chaos at the Navy Yard was designed to get SWAT to commit there, with something even more sinister planned for the Capitol itself.

I find it very difficult to believe Wash DC would have such limited SWAT teams and resources that they can only handle one incident at a time.

He apparently lied about his past, and when the background checkers inquired with local police for details, they were … refused.

BULLSHIT!

I used to run background checks on applicants for police officer. You run a name through NCIS (National Crime Information Center).
You’ll find out if the subject has any current outstanding felony warrants. Normally, states will only list felony, not misdemeanor warrants in this system. This will also generate a list of ALL arrests made on that name/DOB. Even AKA’s if they are known. The list MAY give a disposition on the arrest (court convictions). In addition, a THROUGH, check would also include running the name/DOB though state criminal databases (time consuming). You get the state names from asking the applicant to list their home addresses over the last 10 years.

Computers are stupid. You ask for a name/DOB, they’ll check the name/DOB +/- 5 years. If the subject uses an alias that has never been linked to their true identity, you wouldn’t get a hit.

For this reason another database was created using the SSAN. In this case, you run a search just on that number. It will give you a list of all the names associated with that number. Because crooks have been known to use several different numbers. Then it’s just a case of running those names down. Again, time consuming.

The Office of Personnel Management is also full of it when they say that the investigating firm found major discrepancies in the information Alexis provided . THAT IS A BASIS FOR IMMEDIATE REJECTION.

He apparently lied about his past, and when the background checkers inquired with local police for details, they were … refused.

BULLSHIT!

I used to run background checks on applicants for police officer. You run a name through NCIS (National Crime Information Center).
You’ll find out if the subject has any current outstanding felony warrants. Normally, states will only list felony, not misdemeanor warrants in this system. This will also generate a list of ALL arrests made on that name/DOB. Even AKA’s if they are known. The list MAY give a disposition on the arrest (court convictions). In addition, a THROUGH, check would also include running the name/DOB though state criminal databases (time consuming). You get the state names from asking the applicant to list their home addresses over the last 10 years.

Computers are stupid. You ask for a name/DOB, they’ll check the name/DOB +/- 5 years. If the subject uses an alias that has never been linked to their true identity, you wouldn’t get a hit.

For this reason another database was created using the SSAN. In this case, you run a search just on that number. It will give you a list of all the names associated with that number. Because crooks have been known to use several different numbers. Then it’s just a case of running those names down. Again, time consuming.

The Office of Personnel Management is also full of it when they say that the investigating firm found major discrepancies in the information Alexis provided and asked the local PD for more information. THAT IS A BASIS FOR IMMEDIATE REJECTION.

…. and those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head. Whatever the response issues this was some under-resourced joke of a response like one would find at a shopping mall in Nairobi.
Happy Nomad on September 25, 2013 at 4:59 PM

And I suspect the DC area probably has more than one or two very specific resources and plans to handle a terrorist attack should a lone shooter elsewhere be a diversion. I mean, we are talking the capitol of the United States here not East Bumfreak Podunk.

Knowing how the police think, I figured the stand down order came from someone worried about a second strike to their facility. You have to assume the Navy Yard police can handle their problem while you hot foot it back to your position. On the other hand, how many police were already in their other position getting ready and the team at the Navy Yard was free to go?

That is a command decision and one made by someone who knows following the rules will not get them fired, while doing the right thing might.

If no one gets killed at the Yards, then the recall isn’t noted and no policy guidelines are violated, no paperwork in a personnel file slowing down a promotion, etc.

Shouldn’t take more than one, if it’s in the heart/lung area.
Or if you’re feelin’ particularly confident, go for the brain.

listens2glenn on September 25, 2013 at 6:21 PM

I don’t know how it is in DC but if this was Dallas there would have been about 12 cops who would have fired over 100 rounds and hit him 3 times.

TX-eye on September 25, 2013 at 6:25 PM

Well, ya, one good hit from an AR-15 should do it, but how many total did they fire?
My point being, the Dems keep saying “you shouldn’t need more than 3 shots to drop a deer”.
Well how many did the cops fire before they finally dropped this psycho?
Cuz I want to be able to have AT LEAST that many to defend against any attackers I may have to deal with.

Has anyone else been wondering, why on a Naval base, there are no armed Marines there? The Navy Yard is down the street from the Marine Corps(pronounced,core, for our CINC)Headquarters at 8th and “I”, where plenty of troops could have responded quickly to this assault. There is something terribly wrong inside DOD!

Is the surveillance camera system designed so that the screens are not monitored in real time?
That seems pretty useless as a security measure.
If they are supposed to have someone watching the screens, why hasn’t that been mentioned?
Because either no one was watching, or no watcher gave the alarm.

I don’t recall ever seeing a discussion on the above, sorry if I missed it.

company facing a criminal investigation over allegations that it rushed cases through the clearance process without proper review.

Just an aside, but this applies to Obamacare applications and handlers also.